Arisa Kamada: Raising Japanese Women’s Awareness with Ethical Fashion
Toward a more bountiful society
by Wataru Tsuchiya
Ethical fashion is a new global movement. Using organic materials and practicing fair trade, the movement champions the production and distribution of sustainable fashions that benefit society and the environment. Ethical fashion can mean more profitable industries in the poverty-stricken developing world, creating a sustainable cycle that lifts people out of poverty.
Ethical fashion is not yet a household word in Japan — but a young woman from Tokyo is trying to change this. Fashion model Arisa Kamada (born: 1992) is also a graduate student in social finance, a new approach to finance that takes advantage of the connections between individuals. She is one of Japan’s young leaders striving to address and resolve issues relating to poverty. “I want to change how Japanese gyaru think,” she says. So who is Arisa Kamada? By learning about her activities and philosophy, our readers are certain to feel the power of young Japanese women.
Arisa Kamada: an active woman
Arisa first took up the issue of poverty in a blog post she penned while a high school senior and model. “We often find things and think ‘wow, this is cheap,’” her blog started. She went on to explain that behind every inexpensive item was the problem of poverty in developing countries — adding that fair trade was one way to address the issue. Her timid post was met with great interest among young women — so much so that some of them even started their own movement in fair trade and international relations. One woman joined the Fair Trade Student Network (FTSN) and invited Arisa to give a talk.
Today, Kamada engages in a wide array of activities: she appears on talk shows and other media to spread the message of ethical fashion and fair trade; produces ethical fashion; and organizes overseas study tours. “When I find something I want to do, I talk to a lot of people about it, and work with people who understand my intentions,” says Arisa. When a new project comes up, she springs into action like a whirlwind, drawing in those around her in the process.
A family trip to Bali, Indonesia was eye-opening for then 14-year-old Arisa. Before the trip, she thought Bali was just a resort island. However, what stuck in her mind was not the beautiful sea but scenes of local children begging. The experience left her staggered. Here was the huge gap between rich and poor, a gap she had never witnessed for herself.
The experience led her to learn all she could about volunteer work and programs for addressing poverty.
What she learned soon made her realize that donating money was only a temporary solution. Her interests gradually shifted to finding ways to reduce poverty through business, including fair trade. Already modeling professionally, she thought that if she spread her message through clothing then people might become interested in fighting poverty. Ethical fashion was the logical avenue to pursue.
”Young people tend to think their surroundings are the whole world”
For young women, buying clothes is an enjoyable, everyday activity. But what if the clothes they intend to buy have stories — like an organic cotton dress made by women who work in a small town in Bangladesh? In ethical fashion, clothing often comes with stories about how they were made.“In the past, money, cars and houses were measures of our level of success and happiness. But now, we more or less possess what we want. Getting information and stories before buying the product is becoming the new ‘luxury’ for us.”
This new definition of affluence may affect the permeation of ethical fashion and influence social issues, including poverty. “The world has gradually yet definitely changed with the Internet. Changes we are starting to feel today may be the new normal 20 years from now,” says the model.
Food has changed. Now it’s clothing’s turn
Will society get the message about ethical fashion? Arisa is positive that it will, and explains her optimism by referring to the way our perception of food has changed: people are now starting to demand the ability to trace the origin of the food they eat.
“Even young people care about what’s behind the food they’re eating. In the past, we just ate what was put in front of us. But now we think about where the food came from. I think people will feel the same way about clothing.”
Arisa notes that young friends who didn’t pay much attention to food several years ago are slowly changing. Initially driven by beauty concerns, young people these days are looking at ingredients, at where it was grown and at how it was made.
Arisa, however, is not trying to change people’s awareness of social issues through ethical fashion. “I don’t think everybody is going to be interested in social issues,” she says. Her primary motivation is to give young women the opportunity to see the world beyond Japan.
“Young women tend to be confined to a collection of small communities: school, friends and family. They think the world is where they live. By doing ordinary things like buying clothes, I’m hoping to give them a chance to see a world vastly different from their own.”
Study tours broaden their world
This March, Arisa organized a study tour — “Arisa’s Youth BUILD in Cambodia” — to give young women a chance to learn more about social issues and the world beyond Japan. Despite rapidly developing cities, Cambodia still has large areas stricken with poverty. Estimates suggest that one-fourth of its population is living below the poverty level, with 8.5 million subsisting on less than two dollars a day. Fifteen young Japanese women in their teens and twenties were selected from 200 applicants, and spent three days building houses for Cambodian families. The participants managed to build 90 percent of the houses before leaving for home — and learned a lot about poverty in the process.
“Some participants were interested in addressing poverty, some were interested in life abroad or in languages. Some girls learned a lot about themselves by spending a week in a foreign land. Each girl made her own discoveries.”
Arisa herself felt she gained the most from the study tour and plans to continue organizing the event.
Celebrities talk about social issues
Arisa uses her influence as a model to host study tours and talk shows, and to produce merchandise. Ethical fashion needs a story teller to gain acceptance. “Modeling is a means to an end,” Arisa admits.Models and celebrities raising voices about social issues: this may be normal in some countries but is rare in Japan.
“In our country, famous people tend to shy away from voicing their opinion. They may talk about safe subjects like fashion and makeup, but when it comes to topics like politics and the environment, they worry about getting a negative response if they say what they think.”
If influential people become a little more vocal, perceptions will surely change. A positive cycle that leads to solutions for social issues could be brought about by creating an atmosphere in which people can speak up about important issues.
Need for an “activity base”
Arisa wants to bring together all of her activities in a single location.“I think the space will look like a café.” In addition to blogs, selling merchandise and giving talks, she thinks a place like a café will give her a solid foundation to express what she believes.
“At this place, I’m planning to serve organic and fair trade coffee, attach a shop that sells ethical fashion and give lectures and workshops.”
I’m eager to visit Arisa Kamada’s “activity base” once it becomes reality. It will offer an excellent opportunity to learn about ethical fashion, fair trade and a new world I do not know.
(photo: Daisuke Hayata translation: Chie Kuroiwa)
Originally published at ignition.co.
